Four lakes for the Fourth

Area lakes beckon on a warm holiday weekend. Splashing in Folsom Lake.

For many outdoor enthusiasts, the Fourth of July often turns into a four-day weekend, with the hopes of enjoying a four-pack of fun through different daily adventures.

Though many area lakeside campgrounds are booked solid through the weekend, that shouldn't stop you from enjoying other activities offered at the four lakes we're suggesting for the Fourth.

We decided to focus on nearby Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, Jenkinson Lake (Sly Park), Rancho Seco and the wild card of Lake Berryessa.

"People just want to celebrate the nation's Independence Day together with family and friends," says Lake Berryessa's Janet Rogers.

Hitting the outdoors seems like the perfect venue, she says. Don't let the unavailability of campground reservations keep you from enjoying the lakes even if it's on a day-trip basis.

These lakes and adjacent trails still have plenty of space for daytime activities such as hiking, swimming and fishing. And of course, grilling hot dogs. Here are four locations you might consider.

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

Probably the best known lake in the region, Folsom Lake is ready and at full capacity. To the south, you'll find Lake Natoma, one of the best lakes in the nation for competitive rowing and a local hub for water sports (see story on kayaking on Page D1).

Folsom Lake is open to boating and fishing. Trout, catfish and bass are just some of the fish species.

Biking and walking trails are second to none along the lake, with popular entry points such as Beals Point and Granite Bay. The American River bike trail links Folsom Lake to Sacramento County parks to the west.

Cost: $8 for parking

How to get there: From Highway 50, take either the Hazel or Folsom Boulevard exit. The Hazel exit drops you right off at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma, where you can rent kayaks, canoes and other watercraft (www.sacstate aquaticcenter.com or 916-278-2842).

For more information on Folsom Lake SRA: www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=500 or (916) 988-0205

Jenkinson Lake/Sly Park

Operated by the El Dorado Irrigation District, Sly Park boasts a pristine lake that covers more than 600 surface acres and has plenty of fishing spots, says the park's Cheri Jaggers.

A scenic hike along the 8 1/2 miles of lakeshore is an option for those who seek an outdoors view.

"There's a waterfall, and they will see some nature like birds, lizards – and although they don't like them – snakes," the park manager says.

Like most other lakes, Jenkinson Lake has space available for daily users who are not camping, and there's plenty of room for picnicking and outdoor cooking.

If you want to paddle the relatively calm waters of the lake, Sly Park offers pedal-boats and other crafts, staring at $5.

Cost: $10 for parking, $8 for seniors. Campgrounds are full for the weekend.

How to get there: Take Highway 50 east to the second Pollock Pines exit, and head south to the lake and park.

More info: (530) 295-6824

Rancho Seco

It's hard to ignore the two relics from the defunct nuclear power plant. But the two cooling towers, standing 425 feet tall, are the only eyesores near this otherwise pastoral setting, which includes Rancho Seco Lake.

The 160-acre recreation area is ideal for fishing, sailing, boating and even swimming. Don't worry, the water doesn't glow in the dark. A park representative says copious amounts of bass, trout and bluegill are frequently stocked to amuse anglers. The park is usually one of the better fishing lakes in the region – especially for kids.

Pedal boats and kayaks are available for rent; windsurfers have been known to take the waters as well, but no gas-powered watercraft are allowed.

More than 100 shaded picnic areas with plenty of grills surround the shore. The wide-open recreational area can accommodate large groups.

Cost: $5 per car

How to get there: Take Highway 99 south to Twin Cities Road/Highway 104. Head east for 15 miles to the Rancho Seco Park exit.

More information: (209) 748-2318 or www.smud.org/ en/about/pages/ recreation-rancho.aspx.

Lake Berryessa

"Fishing."

That is the response for what is best known at Lake Berryessa, according locals and resort owners. Located in Napa County near the point where it converges with Yolo and Solano counties, it's known for its trout, bass and kokanee salmon fishing – especially right now (see our Fishing Line at right).

The east side of the lake is home to the Lake Berryessa Wildlife Area, portions of which are accessible by car (www.usbr.gov/ mp/ccao/berryessa).

Private resorts on the lake, including Markley Cove, offer parking and boat launch for $20.

The Bureau of Reclamation operates free day-use areas. For details, visit the Web site and click "Activities Around the Lake" and then scroll to "Oak Shores."

Cost: Depends on whether you visit a resort or day-use area.

How to get there: Take Interstate 80 west to Interstate 505. Head north toward Winters and then exit west on Highway 128.

More information: Bureau of Reclamation, (707) 966-2111, ext. 103.

Markley Cove Resort and Marina, (707) 966-2134.

As the Sacramento region settles into its annual stretch of dry summer weather, data from the official rain season that ended Tuesday shows that though it could have been worse, a little more precipitation would not have hurt.

Predictions from the National Weather Service provide no hope that the new rain season -- it runs annually from July 1 through June 30 -- will start any differently than the previous one ended: It will be warm and dry.

This holiday weekend forecast is for mostly clear skies and high temperatures in Sacramento hitting 94 degrees today and reaching 96 degrees on Independence Day.

After that, experts say to expect a moderate slide to 92 degrees Sunday and into the mid-80s the first three days of next week.

Weather service forecaster Johnnie Powell provided a breakdown of precipitation data for the just-ended rain season:

• Total rainfall: 16.47 inches, 83 percent of normal, which is 19.87 inches. The highest total ever recorded in Sacramento is 37.49 inches in 1982-83; lowest total was 7.25 inches in 1975-76.

• January rainfall: 1.48 inches instead of the average of 4.18 in what usually is the wettest month. In the last eight years, January has been above normal one time -- 7.42 inches in 2007.

• February rainfall: 5.06 inches, well above the average of 3.77. Wettest month in 2008-2009.

• April, May and June produced above-average rainfall, just not enough make up for a below-average year overall.

"The spread of the rain was surprising," forecaster George Cline said. "We got the rain in May and June. But we still are in deficit. It wasn't as bad a year as it has been. It could have been better, but we have done a lot worse lately."

Cline said a bright spot for the just-completed weather year was that June temperatures were mild, preserving the snowpack some and delaying the snowmelt's annual rush to the sea.

"We had a relatively cool June," he said. "That preserves the snowpack. The average temperature ended up 1.7 degrees below normal for June."

Month-by-month totals revealed that if January rain had been featured average rainfall, Sacramento would have nearly met its annual average.

"January was a bad month for us," he said. "February helped a bit, but a dry January is never a good sign for our water year."

2008-09 MONTH-BY-MONTH RAIN TOTALS

(Actual and annual average)

JULY 2008: 0.00 - 0.05

AUGUST 2008: 0.00 - 0.05

SEPTEMBER 2008: 0.00 - 0.37

OCTOBER 2008: 0.75 - 1.00

NOVEMBER 2008: 2.22 - 2.59

DECEMBER 2008: 1.75 - 2.76

JANUARY 2009: 1.48 - 4.18

FEBRUARY 2009: 5.06 - 3.77

MARCH 2009: 1.83 - 3.15

APRIL 2009: 1.61 - 1.17

MAY 2009: 1.30 - 0.60

JUNE 2009: 0.47 - 0.18

2008/2009: 16.47 - 19.87

ANNUAL RAIN TOTALS SINCE 1999-2000

(Average is 19.87 inches)

2008/2009: 16.47

2007/2008: 14.77

2006/2007: 11.95

2005/2006: 25.63

2004/2005: 24.53

2003/2004: 14.19

2002/2003: 15.99

2001/2002: 17.08

2000/2001: 17.31

1999/2000: 23.74

State Department of Motor Vehicle offices will be closed each of the next three Fridays, July 10, 17, and 24, to comply with the governor's furlough order, department officials said.

DMV field offices will remain open Mondays through Thursdays.

Officials urged motorists to make sure all paperwork is in order before coming to a field office, to expedite their visit.

Those who have a registration deadline date that falls on a Friday will be given an extra business day to conclude their transaction.

Customers also can conduct some transactions at www.dmv.ca.gov.

Elk Grove Unified officials have rescinded a request for parents to return DVDs that included "inappropriate images" they say were inadvertently sent home with students at Isabelle Jackson Elementary.

Now, the district doesn't want the DVDs back.

"Just destroy them," said district spokeswoman Torrey Johnson.

A teacher apparently sent the DVD retrospective of class activity home with her 24 students on the last day of school Friday.

Although the district would not say what sort of images the DVD contained, a copy obtained by The Bee from a parent showed six seconds of sexual content.

Johnson said the teacher learned of the mistake when a parent called her over the weekend. The teacher then called all the parents of her students and asked them to destroy the DVD.

The district followed up with a letter to parents in which they initially requested that the DVDs be returned to the school.

Johnson said a district investigation of the incident will consider whether anything criminal took place, among other things.

Though children saw the video, no parents filed a complaint with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, said Sgt. Tim Curran, sheriff's spokesman.

Even if someone were to file a report, Curran said, distributing the DVD "may not be prosecutable" because law enforcement would have to establish the teacher had both intent to distribute the material and intent to arouse in order to have broken the law.

After months of bitter negotiations, the city of Sacramento and its fire union have agreed to salary concessions that they say will save the jobs of dozens of firefighters.

Now, it's up to the firefighters to accept the plan – or reject it.

As many as 68 jobs in the Sacramento Fire Department will be eliminated unless the union ratifies a deal approved Wednesday by the City Council in a special closed session.

Under the tentative agreement, firefighter salaries would be frozen for 30 months, saving the city $10.8 million. In exchange for freezing wages, the city would not lay off firefighters for at least one year.

Without salary concessions, dozens of firefighters are scheduled to lose their jobs on Friday. An estimated 50 firefighters would be laid off, and 18 senior fire personnel would be demoted, pushing lower-ranking firefighters out of their jobs.

Members of the fire union will begin voting on the tentative agreement this morning. Voting continues Friday.

"We're 'cautiously optimistic' is the best way to say it," union spokesman Chris Harvey said. "Coming right down to the wire like we did has rattled everybody's nerves."

Under the deal, a 5 percent raise due firefighters on July 14 would be delayed until January 2012.

If the agreement is ratified, it would mark the end of contentious negotiations between the city and the fire union.

The current deal, floated by the union earlier this week, was the fourth debated by the council. One proposal was shot down by union members and two others were rejected by the council before they were voted on by firefighters.

In a union proposal last week, the council rejected a plan to freeze firefighter salaries for one year in exchange for layoff protection during that time. Several council members said they voted against the offer because it included a 5 percent raise to take effect next June, when economic conditions in the city are expected to be as poor as they are now.

"That was not a good situation for the city; we needed to go forward with a balanced budget," Mayor Kevin Johnson said. "At that particular point, the only thing left was trying to pull a rabbit out of our hats."

It took less than 30 minutes for Johnson and six of his colleagues on the council to accept the latest proposal. The council is on summer break. and council members Steve Cohn and Bonnie Pannell were not in attendance.

"I've been involved in labor negotiations for 15 years, and quite frankly, I didn't think we'd be able to put this together," said Councilman Robbie Waters. "But everybody came together, and it's going to make for a much safer city."

If the city avoids laying off firefighters, it probably would not be forced to increase the number of fire engines taken out of service, said Assistant City Manager Gus Vina. And it would increase the chances the city could fully staff a firehouse that is planned for construction in North Natomas.

While an agreement with the fire union would save the jobs of dozens of firefighters, roughly 180 other city employees are scheduled to work their last day today because Local 39 and city negotiators could not agree on salary concessions.

City negotiators had asked those workers – most of them covered by Local 39, which represents about 2,500 workers not involved in public safety – to defer a 4 percent raise and agree to furloughs. Union leaders said they would agree to a year's worth of furloughs and a suspension on raises associated with tenure, but not a delay in the 4 percent pay hike.

Most of the employees losing their jobs work in the parks or utilities departments. The city this week announced the elimination of recreational swims, reduced municipal pool operations, shuttered summer day camps and the closing of restrooms in most city parks.

Biologists netted 26 spring-run Chinook salmon this week, saving them from a pool in a tributary of the Sacramento River where they trapped themselves in warm water.

The fish, on the federal threatened-species list, would not move from the Butte Creek pool where the water was significantly warmer than the rest of the stream, creating what the state Department of Fish and Game said was a "thermal block."

The warm water in the stream near Chico caused the fish to seek cooler water at the bottom of the pool, a move that prevented the migrating fish from moving on.

Fisheries experts from Fish and Game, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and UC Davis netted the fish and implanted radio transmitters in them. The fish were loaded into a truck for release upstream in cooler water so they could continue to continue their spawning migration. The work was finished Wednesday.

The trackers are designed to help biologists monitor the rescued fish and determine their impact on the overall salmon population.

Since 1999, Butte Creek's spring-run Chinook salmon have been listed as a threatened species. Central Valley salmon populations vary from year to year. Over the last 10 years, the run has averaged 6,000 fish.

Current surveys indicate a much lower salmon run is expected this year.

They're almost gone.

The California Franchise Tax Board announced this morning it will pull the plug on its fax machine at midnight tonight, accepting no more applications for a $10,000 tax credit for buyers of new unoccupied homes in California.

Early Wednesday, the FTB said it has received 11,925 applications for the popular tax credit - 75 short of its 12,000-application limit.

The state tax agency said last month it would take 2,000 extra applications for the credit because many received are duplicates, invalid or incomplete.

The tax credit program, launched March 1 to move statewide home builders' excess, unsold inventory, proved more popular than expected. The FTB said it has already issued 4,808 certificates for nearly $45 million worth of credits. Officials expect to process and award all the credits by the end of August.

Home builders have shifted their focus to efforts to add $200 million more to the original $100 million allocation. But that's proved more difficult than expected in a rancorous budget climate. Some economists have criticized further allocations as a stimulus for home building when the state's larger problem, they argue, is an excess of unsold existing homes.

The California Building Industry Association, a trade group for residential builders and suppliers, maintains that each $10,000 tax credit adds $16,000 to state government revenues and $3,000 to a local government because of the economic activity generated.

A dozen or so older adults at the Folsom Senior Center erupt in cheers and clapping as Elsie Offner, a 91-year-old resident of Folsom, bowls a strike.

The senior center doesn't have lanes, but it does have a new bit of gaming technology, a Nintendo Wii. And with it comes Wii bowling, by far the most popular video game with the seniors who frequent the community center.

"It gets you out of your rocking chair," said Offner, when asked what she liked best about the game.

And these types of video games bring with them substantial social benefits.

"It allows them to gather socially and feel social without leaving the comfort of the senior lounge," said Sandy Hilton, the senior center's community services manager.

While playing video games promotes social connectedness and friendships, other benefits – such as the improvement and sharpening of the minds' abilities – are still being uncovered.

Cognitive or mental decline is a hallmark of aging. Most of us, at some point or other, will begin to see our memory, attention or reasoning capabilities falter. Recent research from the University of Virginia suggests that such declines can begin as early as our late 20s to early 30s.

Video games are emerging as a powerful new stimulant for helping to buttress and buffer the mind against the march of time.

Research over the past decade has repeatedly shown that games and other brain exercises can be effective aliments to declines in cognitive functioning, including memory, attention, processing speed, problem solving and mental flexibility.

The ACTIVE study published by the American Medical Association in 2006 showed that benefits for older adults can be seen five years after cognitive training – including positive effects on daily functioning.

Researchers at North Carolina State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology are teaming up to take the next step in understanding games' benefits to cognitive functioning.

Anne McLaughlin, a North Carolina State assistant professor, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to uncover the aspects of games that have the most potential to improve cognitive functioning in older adults.

"We want to produce guidelines for people making games," McLaughlin said. "The goal is to predict beforehand whether they're working or not." Once the guidelines are understood, collaborators at Georgia Tech will incorporate them into real working games.

This is important because a majority of commercial software marketed as enhancing cognition or brain function, such as Nintendo "Brain Age," lack experimental evidence. The Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate or regulate claims about how such software could have beneficial health effects.

Companies such as Lumos Labs in San Francisco are not only developing cognitive training games, but also evaluating them.

"We are taking exercises and specific ways of doing cognitive development and converting them into games so that they are enjoyable enough for people to do," said Mike Scanlon, head of scientific operations at Lumos Labs.

The games on Lumos' site, Lumosity.com, aren't explicitly developed for older adults because training on games can provide benefits for a wide range of age groups.

Games are organized into training programs consisting of 20 to 40 sessions of 15 minutes each. Each session in turn can involve playing up to five different mini-games for a few minutes each.

David DeLuz has been chosen president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Urban League by the organization's board of directors.

James Shelby announced earlier this year that he would retire after 16 years as president and chief executive officer of the League.

DeLuz, who was president of the Sacramento branch of the NAACP from 2002 to 2005, said that he was excited to get to work and honored to follow in Shelby's footsteps.

"I have much respect for Mr. Shelby's legacy, and I am honored to be given the torch to continue his efforts," DeLuz said.

The National Urban League, established in 1910, has more than 100 affiliates. The Sacramento chapter was started by a handful of activists during the summer of 1968 after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

In 2000, the League moved from Oak Park into a three-story headquarters at 3725 Marysville Boulevard in Del Paso Heights. The 28,000-square-foot structure has eight classrooms, more than 200 computers, an auditorium, a kitchen and a child-care facility.

Among the programs that have been offered by the league are business and technology training, high school equivalency degree, after-school homework assistance and job placement.

The day after Sacramento's temporary homeless shelter closed for the season at Cal Expo, more than 250 homeless people and advocates marched to promote their latest idea for providing beds for Sacramento's growing homeless population.

What organizers call "Safe Ground" sites would be legal campgrounds where homeless people can live without fear of being arrested for crimes associated with homelessness.

City officials, including Mayor Kevin Johnson, have said they want to learn more about the idea.

"The mayor's inclined to support 'Safe Ground,'" said spokesman Joaquin McPeek. "But at the end of the day we need to make sure that it makes sense and we do the proper research."

Johnson said Wednesday in an e-mail that, " 'Safe Ground' needs to be further researched to see if it will work as a temporary solution to Sacramento's overall goals regarding homelessness."

Wednesday's march began at Loaves & Fishes, where the participants, including homeless men hardened by years of outdoor exposure, families, shelter volunteers and one miniature horse, set out along Richards Boulevard. Cars honked their support, people chanted "What do we want? Safe Ground!" and others sang 1960s-era protest songs.

Michael Harris celebrated his 50th birthday at the march. Harris has been sleeping outside in various locations in Sacramento for about two months.

"I try to liken it to camping, but it's my everyday life," he said.

Harris said a legal campground would be a relief from the stress of finding a place to sleep every night.

"It makes you feel so much better if you know you have a place to lay down," he said. "You can think better, make decisions, maybe plan for a move."

Sister Libby Fernandez, Loaves & Fishes executive director, said after a tent city north of downtown was dismantled, clients told her they wanted a city-sanctioned outdoor space for them to live. That spurred her and other advocates to push for a safe and legal plan for them.

Wednesday's rally was timed to the closure of a seasonal shelter at Cal Expo, which left more than 200 people to seek other shelter.

"I was staying at Cal Expo," said Gabriel Evans. "I have no idea where I'll stay tonight."

Evans, 29, said a legal campground would be safer than living on the streets. Evans still has tattoos from his time as a Norteño gang member. He said he's now targeted by his former allies and enemies alike.

Sacramento Police Officer Mark Zoulas, one of two officers dedicated to working with the homeless, said he's in favor of a legal campground, but has reservations.

His concern, he said, is about friction between campers and nearby residents.

Rodney Frazier held his 17-month-old son, Demarius, on his shoulders as Wednesday's marchers gathered at a vacant lot on Richards Boulevard – like the kind of unused lot advocates say could become a legal campground.

A single father, Frazier is looking for safe and permanent housing for himself and his son. He supports the idea of a legal campground, but says it wouldn't be appropriate for children.

A few miles from the rally, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell held a media conference to address a rise in homeless students across California.

O'Connell announced that California received $13.8 million in federal stimulus money to assist homeless children.

"These students, through no fault of their own, don't have that basic central home environment," O'Connell said at the Transitional Housing Program for Families on 32nd and V streets.

Several area districts qualify to apply for the one-time funding. Sacramento City Unified is eligible for $42,950; San Juan Unified for $60,050; Twin Rivers Unified for $116,930; and the Sacramento County Office of Education for $296,500.

Homelessness in Sacramento schools rose from 5,120 in 2007-2008 to 6,111 in 2008-2009, according to data released Wednesday by the Sacramento County Office of Education.

Has Sacramento turned back the clock on its highways to a more free-wheeling time?

Some drivers and highway officials say yes – knock on wood – congestion doesn't seem as bad as it once was.

Plenty of commuters, stalled in their regularly scheduled daily jam, find that hard to believe.

But state Department of Transportation local freeway operations chief Jim Calkins said his crews have been chronicling an unbuckling of congestion around Sacramento for several years.

"I'm not saying it isn't bad out there," Calkins said. "It's just not as bad. People are driving less."

The estimated total commute hours vehicles spent in congested traffic on Sacramento freeways dropped from 21,800 to 11,500 over the last four years, Caltrans estimates.

Notably, though, congestion during the heart of the commute – at 8 a.m. and at 5 p.m. – appears to be as heavy as ever.

It's an indication that commuters still choose to cluster, even though their drives would be easier if they took off earlier or later.

Three years ago, traffic on Highway 99 from Elk Grove would begin slowing daily soon after 6 a.m., Caltrans' Calkins said. Now, at that hour, it's often clear sailing.

Caltrans officials note the easing of traffic started before the current recession hit.

They cite expansion projects, such as lane additions at the notorious Roseville Interstate 80 bottleneck, and other fixes on Highways 99 and 50 and I-5, as well as some surface street widenings, as part of the reason.

But the main cause, traffic watchers say, is much bigger than Caltrans.

It's the economy.

Last year, skyrocketing gas prices kept many cars in garages for anything other than essential trips. Bus and light-rail use jumped.

This year, layoffs, furloughs and construction slowdowns have reduced the number of vehicles on the road on any given day, officials say. And as major retail outlets closed, truck deliveries to those stores disappeared, too.

If there is an upside to the economic doldrums, a recent Sacramento State survey hints it may be that drivers are less stressed now.

Just three years ago, 70 percent of Sacramentans rated congestion as a big problem. This spring, only 43 percent said it was a big problem.

Stephanie Griffin, who lives in Yuba City and works near Howe Avenue, said she first noticed traffic wasn't as bad this year on nights the Sacramento Kings were playing.

She used to keep a Kings game schedule at work as a warning "to avoid sitting in bumper to bumper traffic."

Now, she says, traffic seems lighter along her entire commute.

Jan Mendoza, who commutes on I-5 and Highways 70 and 50, agrees.

"I used to have to leave my house no later than 6:15 to make it to my desk at 7:30," she said. "Lately, I've been leaving the house at 6:30 and arriving five minutes early."

Early signs suggest this summer will see the lightest traffic in Northern California in years.

The California State Automobile Association projects a 2 percent drop in the number of people planning long driving trips compared to last summer.

A recent USA Today and Gallup poll found half of Americans intend to just stay home this summer. That's up from 41 percent last year.

Congestion hot spots remain throughout Sacramento, and a few appear to be getting worse.

For commuter Griffin, the W/X section of the Capital City Freeway continues to be a sore spot, as cars weave in and out, at varying speeds, to and from freeway ramps.

Interstate 5 through downtown Sacramento has become one of the region's slowest afternoon commute sites, Caltrans data show. Commuters crawl through there on average only 26 mph, according to 2007 data.

That appears to have improved lately, Caltrans officials said, thanks to a new road surface, some restriping and ramp meters.

The section of the Capital City Freeway over the American River to Arden Way registers the second-slowest average afternoon commute speeds – 31 mph.

To avoid that bottleneck, some commuters have switched to I-80 in Natomas, turning the freeway section near Northgate Boulevard and Norwood Avenue into the region's newest commute trouble spot.

But congestion in Sacramento isn't only a weekday event. On Friday evenings, some commuters say, traffic on I-80 and Highway 50 can be at its worst.

"A nightmare," El Dorado County commuter Jo Noble said. "People heading up to Tahoe, I presume."

The return crowd from the mountains on Sunday afternoons – many headed back to the Bay Area – habitually clogs I-80 near Roseville and in West Sacramento on the approach to the Yolo Causeway. Both are spots where major freeways converge.

The recent overall dip in congestion gives Caltrans workers a slight breather on a handful of major road projects, officials said.

Road expansions continue on I-80 at the Roseville bottleneck, on the Lincoln Bypass portion of Highway 65, and on Highways 70 and 99 south of Yuba City and Marysville.

In January, Caltrans plans to start building a set of carpool lanes on Highway 50 between Sunrise Boulevard and Watt Avenue.

The reprieve isn't forever, though. The economy will pick up, and Sacramento will grow, planners say. And most agree that widening roads won't solve congestion problems in the long run. In fact, if poorly planned, they can make congestion worse, many say.

Caltrans is analyzing Sacramento's main freeway corridors for improvements, including looking at how parallel roads, transit and bike routes can be used to supplement the highway.

"We are trying to take a multi-modal approach," Caltrans's Jeff Pulverman said, "so we can squeeze as much as we can out of the existing network."

In three months, Sevon Boles' lease would have expired, allowing him to leave the Willow Pointe at Lindale apartment complex.

Ten days ago, he left the complex gates for the last time – on a stretcher, bleeding out from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at a local hospital the night of June 22 at age 26.

"He was trying to get out of there," said Boles' mother, Shirley Love. "Not nice. No peace. Too much violence."

Boles was the second young man shot to death at the 210-unit complex on Sunnyslope Drive, near the Florin Towne Center, in as many months.

Curtis Anderson, 20, was fatally shot April 29. Sacramento County sheriff's detectives arrested 26-year-old Jamaral Smith on suspicion of killing Anderson; Boles' killer remains unknown.

Detectives have not determined a motive for the shooting or identified a suspect, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

Shirley Love and her husband, Alfred, helped Boles move into Willow Pointe about three months ago. It didn't take them long to form an opinion about the complex.

"I didn't like it," Alfred Love said. "Those groups that sit there and stare at you – give you the eye."

Boles told his parents he wanted out. The constant noise and violence made every night "sound like the Fourth of July over there," Alfred recalled his son saying.

Since Boles' death, there's been a frustrating kind of silence at Willow Pointe. Sheriff's homicide detectives couldn't find any witnesses in the massive complex – even though the shooting occurred before 11 p.m.

"Everybody knows but nobody's talking, and that's the problem," Alfred Love said. "These people rule by terror over in that complex."

Then he corrected himself: "There's lots of talk going around – just not to the police."

Willow Pointe's on-site manager did not return a phone call from The Bee. A sheriff's Problem-Oriented Policing deputy familiar with the complex said new management has tried to improve the living conditions there, but officials are battling an ingrained reputation.

Boles was no stranger to crime. He had a history in Sacramento County, but not of violent crime, according to Superior Court records. His last conviction came in 2007, for felony possession of a controlled substance.

Alfred Love said Boles struggled with marijuana use but was in a rehabilitation class and doing well before he was killed.

Sheriff's detectives do not believe Boles was engaged in criminal activity when he was shot, Curran said.

Alfred Love described his son as a hard worker who got his first job mowing lawns when he was 9. He had a "Kool-Aid smile" and many friends. In addition to his parents, he leaves behind four young children, two brothers and three sisters.

"I'm hurt, and I'm angry," Shirley Love said. "This is a soul taken away from us unnecessarily – a good soul that meant well for people. … I can't express to you what it's like to feel the feeling we feel right now."

It is the second time Alfred and Shirley Love have lost a son to street violence. On Dec. 12, 1990, their son Rodney Powell was gunned down in a drive-by shooting at Florin Road and Stockton Boulevard – one-third of a mile from the scene of Boles' shooting.

Previously affiliated with gangs, Powell was an 18-year-old aspiring rapper on the verge of agreeing to produce rap music with anti-gang and anti-drug lyrics, according to a Bee account published after Powell's slaying.

His little brother, Boles, was 7 years old.

Powell's killer also remains at large. Anyone with information about either homicide is asked to call sheriff's detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Sacramento's energy provider has decided to pull out of a plan to join forces with a collection of other municipal power providers to build a $1.5 billion high-voltage power line from the Valley to Lassen County.

"We feel the overall project isn't strong enough to justify spending additional money on scoping and planning," said Elisabeth Brinton, a Sacramento Municipal Utility District spokeswoman.

To date, SMUD has spent $2 million of the $13 million it was expecting to spend investigating the project.

SMUD's withdrawal leaves a gaping hole in the project's budget. As the largest player, the publicly owned Sacramento utility was expected to pay for 35 percent of the project's cost.

It was not immediately clear whether the 15-member consortium of municipal power providers can make the project financially feasible without SMUD. Some of the other consortium members include the cities of Roseville and Redding and the Modesto Irrigation District.

The project's stated aim is to increase the region's power-grid capacity, improve reliability and help move power generated by future clean energy projects in the remote northeast corner of the state to power-thirsty urban areas.

The 600 miles of high-voltage lines would run from the northeast corner of the state to the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Modesto. Officials hoped to finish the project in 2014.

The study phase was expected to stretch into 2012, but the project quickly earned the scorn of property owners and local environmentalists.

Brinton said SMUD said studies suggested the utility should search elsewhere for the green energy it will need to meet future renewable energy requirements expected to reach 33 percent by 2020.

"We have concluded it might not be in the best interests of our customers," Brinton said. "We want to step back and analyze all the options."

Nora Shimoda, a Davis resident who helped galvanize opposition to the project, said she was glad SMUD showed some "good judgment."

"They seem to be a reasonable board," Shimoda said. "We do support green energy. We just did not think that (this project) made sense."

While it was unclear how the Transmission Agency of Northern California would pay for the project without its biggest partner, officials said the project is not dead.

"We just got this notification, and we are going to be meeting with our partners to assess our next steps," said TANC spokesman Brendan Wonnacott. In the meantime, all public outreach meetings have been postponed, Wonnacott said.

Rockney Compton, a Round Mountain resident who might have a set of power lines over his backyard, responded to the news with guarded optimism.

"I'm not going to hang up my hat until it's certain it's history," Compton said.

The Arden Arcade Incorporation Committee has raised the money necessary to complete the next step in the bid for turning Arden Arcade – a community in unincorporated Sacramento County – into a city, committee officials say.

Committee Chairman Joel Archer said he would give a check for $89,083 to the Local Agency Formation Commission to cover the cost of finishing a comprehensive fiscal analysis and environmental impact report – two reports LAFCO must sign off on before the committee can place incorporation on the ballot.

If LAFCO accepts the two reports, Archer said incorporation could be on the November 2010 ballot.

The committee, along with a city of Sacramento representative, will host a community meeting at 7 p.m. July 23 at the Arcade Church, 3927 Marconi Ave., to discuss the pros and cons of incorporation and annexation. City officials are looking at the possibility of annexing Arden Arcade.

– Robert Lewis#150; The Willits News

At Cal Expo, they talk about "transparency."

Expo officials say they are trying to offer the public a clear understanding of what's going on in their dealings with the National Basketball Association for an arena and new fairgrounds.

But, two years in, the process remains laden with key unanswered questions.

Some Expo board members lament that even they don't have a good view yet of where they're heading.

How much would an arena cost, and how would it be financed? It's too early to say, Expo executives report.

What exactly would the fairgrounds look like? Will it be a moneymaker?

That's not sure yet.

Another question arose this week – about the potential for conflict of interest for a Cal Expo board member.

Last week, Cal Expo sent letters to 15 developers, asking for advice on its plan.

Cal Expo and the NBA want to know if their concept makes sense in the business world. Would a developer be willing to step in and pay for an arena and fairgrounds in exchange for the right to build housing, offices and stores on the remainder of the Expo site?

One of the developers invited to view the Expo arena plan, it turns out, has a private business connection with an Expo board member.

Rex Hime, a board member active on the arena project, is head of the California Business Properties Association.

Majestic Realty, a Southern California developer, is on Hime's business association's board, essentially making it one of Hime's bosses.

Expo officials said Hime was not involved in choosing Majestic or other developers invited to review the arena plans.

Hime told The Bee he wasn't aware Majestic had been invited until a reporter brought it up this week.

Realizing his work with developers could cause a perception of conflict, Hime said he already had decided not to participate when Expo officials seek developer input this month.

"I didn't want to give the appearance of something out of line," Hime said.

Several conflict of interest law experts told The Bee that Hime's situation does not appear to be a legal conflict.

Conflict occurs, they said, only when a government official's personal economic interests are directly affected by a decision he or she makes or influences.

In this case, Majestic is only being asked to give advice. It can choose, later, however, to apply to be the developer for the Expo project.

Should that happen, Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, said Hime still might not have a legal conflict of interest. But Stern said he probably would advise Hime to excuse himself from the decision to avoid "a potential appearance of bias."

Cal Expo still has a ways to go before that happens.

As of Wednesday morning, neither Majestic nor any of the other 14 developers had yet responded to Cal Expo's request.